Apparatus for electrically operating water-tight bulkhead-doors.



No. 871,804. PATENTED NOV. 26, 1907. R. H. KIRK.

APPARATUS FOR ELEGTRIGALLY OPERATING WATER TIGHT BULKHEAD DOORS.

APPLIOATION FILED APR.22,1905.

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No. 871,804. PATENTED NOV. 26, 1907. R. H. KIRK.

APPARATUS FOR ELEOTRIOALLY OPERATING WATER TIGHT BULKHEAD DOORS.

APPLIOATION FILED A,PR.22,1905. m SHEETEFSHEM 2' T5 I ampewtoe D W Gflfoamug;

.R 1/11; a P 1 :JMWP/ 0 Q L i r My :53 A A u No. 871,804: PATENTED NOV. 26, 1907.

. R. H. KIRK. APPARATUS FOR ELEGTRIGALLY OPERATING WATER TIGHT BULKHEAD DOORS.

12 SHEETS-SHEHT 3.

APPLICATION FILED APB..22.1905.

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No. 871,804. PATENTED'NOV. 26. 1907.

R. H. KIRK.

APPARATUS FOR ELEGTRIGALLY OPERATING WATER TIGHT BULKHEAD DOORS.

APPLIOATION FILED APB..22.1905.

12 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

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No. 871,804. PATBNTED NOV. 26, 1907.

R. H. KIRK. APPARATUS FOR ELBGTRIOALLY OPERATING WATER TIGHT BULKHEAD DOORS.

AP .22,1905. APPLICATION TILED R 12 SHEETS SHEET Svwewfcyc m/Q, ZJMWM Skim/H2135 No. 871,804. PATENTED NOV. 26, 1907'. R. H. KIRK.

APPARATUS FOR ELEGTRIOALLY OPERATING WATER TIGHT BULKHEAD DOORS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 22, 1905.

12 SHEETS-SHEET 6.

q vimeoooo No. 871,804. PATENTED NOV. 26, 1907. R. H. KIRK.

APPARATUS FOR ELBOTRICALLY OPERATING WATER TIGHT BULKHEAD DOORS.

APPLICATION rum) APR. 22 1905.

' 12 sums-sum '1.

No. 871,804. PATENTED NOV. 26, 1907. R. H. KIRK.

APPARATUS FOR ELEGTRIGALLY OPERATING WATER TIGHT BULKHEAD DOORS.

, APPLICATION FILED APR.22,1905.

l2 SHEETS-SHEET 8.

No. 871,804. PATBNTED NOV. 26, 1907. R. H. KIRK.

APPARATUS FOR ELECTRIGALLY OPERATING WATER TIGHT BULKHEAD DOORS.

APPL TIO rum) APR,22,1905.

N msnzms-snnnw 9.

No. 871,804. PATENTED NOV. 26, 1907.

v R. H. KIRK. APPARATUS FOR ELBGTRICALLY OPERATING WATER TIGHT BULKHEAD DOORS.

APPLIO TION FILED APR. 22 1905.

A 12 SHEETS-SHEET 10.

m 0. qw v w wit mums GHQ 011M431 No. 871,804. PATENTED NOV. 26, 1907.

- R. H. KIRK, I APPARATUS FOR ELEOTRIGALLY OPERATING WATER TIGHT BULKHEAD moons.

APPLIGATION FILED APR.22. 1905.

12 SHEETSSHEBT ll.

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awed/"e13 J No. 871,804. PATENTED NOV. 26, 1907.

R. H. KIRK. APPARATUS FOR ELEGTRIGALLY OPERATING WATER TIGHT BULKHEAD DOORS.

N TILED APR. 22 1905. APPLIOATIO 12 SHEETS-SHEET 12.

loth wows ROBERT E.

To all whammy comm-1 .QPANY, or CLEVELAND,OH IO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

. armnn ros Eon nLEc'rmc LLY- OPERATING WATER-TIGHT BULKHEAD-DOORS.

' Iva 871,804.

Be it knownf'that;'I,]RonERr Kink, a

citizen, of; thef United States, residing at '1 Cleveland, in the/county "of Cuyahoga and State of-Ohio, have invented certain new and useful]Improvements in Apparatus for I Electrically Operating 1Water Tight- Bulk- I head-Doorsyand ldd hereby declare the -fol- 1 lowing to be a full, clearjand exact descri fk thers skilledin the art towhlch it apper- 1 tains'to make anduse the same.

tion of the inventionpsuch as will enab e My invention relates to improvements in 7' araths'aforthe {electrical o eration of Ybu kheaddoors andhatches a oard ship, and. it relatesmorees eQcijally to certain improvements on .the we l known long arm system as installed inthe United States Navy and as illustratdl n'the;U. S'. patents 'to 120 George H. Hill fNo. .65'0,973, granted June 5,

" 1900, to W. B. Cowles'No." 729,280, ranted 3 May 26,1993, to W.-"B I Coivles No. 3,252, granted November-3, 1903. This system as installedaboard ship requires that each such door for hatch .Inust' be capable of per- .mitting operationjon; the spotby ower orf by hand from eitherfsideqof thebu head or deck, and-all such'doorsoriallsuch hatches l 9: enda l b g dfl y P r s. simultaneously, ffromanf emergency station. During any period: of simultaneous or emer gency clos ng, iiull f control must be main- Yt'ame'd 'fofopening'any individualdoor or *-;hatch on lth'e 's'pot,":eith .bypower or by hand, from eithefsidejofthelbulkhead or I 1 deck, fa er ny" 1 1 Y d 0 fi g r i j ing SilohTPeifiOd the emergency. fc Osing must Y ,re' eatitself"automatically. Means must be opted to indicate continuously at the f '40 7 eriodwhen'eachdoor,andfhatchis shut and emergency 'jstation duringyevery emergency ocked. The hatches and doors must form in- 'lydependentfgroups for working at the emerwgency stat1on."-, These results are accomgplishedfby the apparatus that'will be hereinalfterjdescribedq ff if i" i Reference is had to. i the accompanying y drawings i n.which thefsame artsare indicated' bythe?samelletterst roughout the several iviews.

9 r igu 1-,.1 is a front elekiititntf a vertically sl ding bulkhead door withgthe operating to; iDVGIItiOII the 'idOOnbeing sho-wnBartly open. shows a sectionthroug Fig. 2 the bulkhead, and

Specification of Letters Patent. I Application filed April 2231905. Serial No- 256.976.

. looking down, and Fig. 3 is a perspective Patented Nov; 26, 1907.

illustrates the lower portion of the doorwhen the door is in the closed osition, this viewv is on an enlarged scale. ig. 3 shows a section along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2 and View showing on a still further enlarged scale, one of the removable studs or buttons used in effecting the tightening of the door. Fig. Ms a front elevation, on an enlarged scale, of, the ower box attached to the framework of t e door, thefront cover being removed and parts being shown in section. Fig. 5'lsh0Ws a section through the direction of the arrows, the cover of the ower box being on, this view is on a still iurther enlarged scale from that shown in Fig. 4. Fig. 6 showsa section along the line of Fig. 5, and the cover of the power box being on. Fig; 7 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of the controller drum, parts beihg shown in elevation. Fig. 8 shows a 'sectionalong the line 8-8 of Fig. 6 and look ing in the directionf of the arrows. Fig. 9 shows a section along the line 9-9 of Fig. 8 and looking down. Figs. 10 and 11 are details ona somewhat larger scale than 8, showing the operation of the interloc 'ng catch for rendering it possible to operate the door-either locally or fromja distance, and

to. take away locally the control froma distanceu Fig. 12 is a section on the line 12 12 ofFig. 9, looking in the direction of the arrows, it being a similar sectlon to that.

shown in Fig. '6, but being taken further from the motor and through parts that are hidden in Fig. 4. Fig. 13. is an enlarged view of the contact box for closing the circuit for indicating at the emergency station KIRxoF CLEVELAND, onro, AssicNoR TO THE-LONG-ARM SYSTEM-00M- ower box on the line 5.5 of Fig. 4, looking 1n the 6-6 ofFig 4 andv looking in the direction of the arrows, the scale being the same as that thatfthe door is closed. Fig. leis a plan view of a portion of the door plate, and the I power box, omitting the bulkhead and the door frame, and shows the rack and pin 'wheel and the operation of the contact box from the doon plate. Fig. 15 is a sect-ion through the power box alon the line 15- 15 of Fig. 4, and shows the fieldmagnet and winding in section, .and also shows the armature shaft in section, but shows the armature windings in end elevatlon. Flg. 16 shows a section along the line '1616 of Fig; 15 and looking in the direction of the arrows. s.

'17 to 23 are diagrams illustrative of t e electric circuits and the means for completing the same, and show the various movements of the controller. and operating parts.

Referring specifically to thesefigures, Fig.- 17 shows a developmentof .the conducting.

segments of the controller drum and also of the flange of the controller drum with the v electrical connections through the motor in operation of the trigger and contact seg-' ments on the drum, the parts being in-the the position assumed when the door is partly open. Fig. 17 a shows diagrammatically the same position as in Fig. 17. Figs. 18 and 18 are similar diagrams to ose shown in Figs. 17 and 17 but illustrate the parts in the position when the dooris'beingopened.

Figs. 19 and'19 are similar diagrams to those shown in Fig. 17 except that the door has been fully opened, but the controller handle has not .been released but is stillmaintained in the open position. Figs. 20 and 20 are similar diagramsillustrating the parts in the. position that they assume when the door is being closed bythe operation of the controller handle. Fig. 21 is a similar diagram to that shown in Fi 17, 18', 19 and 20, except thatv it is inten ed to show the operation of the parts at emergency station,

. and the parts at the door are in the position been closed from the emergency or distant station. Fig.2! shows a front elevation of a horizontal sliding door operated accordingto my invention, the operativeparts being generally similar to those illustrated in the other figures, and Fig. 25 shows a section through the bulkhead, showing the side elevation of the door'shownin Fig. 24.

Referring first to Figs. 1 to3, these are intended to show more especially the movement of the door and the means of tightening it on its seat when itreaches the closed position.

A represents the door plate,'wh1;c-h is provided with the usual strengthening ribs a, and has its opposite face plane andprovided with seating strips A. about its four edges for making a tighter joint.

1B represents one of a plurality of buttons which are intended to (:06 eratewith the tightenin wedges. These uttons are,.provided wit dowel pins b, which pro ect into.

corres onding socketsa in the edges oLt-he door p ate. These buttons are provided with polygonal tops, which are preferably curved on their outer face, as at b, 'andmay be rovided with recesses b for convenience 0 reby suitable bolts Figs. 22 and 22" show similar .with'hool'r's (1 which moval, when desired. These dowels b fit snugly in the sockets, and the buttons may be hned up by shims or washers placed beneath the heads, as may be desired.

0 represents thedoor frame, which is se cured to the bulkhead C in any convenient way. This frame is preferably made of channel beams, such as shown in Fig. 3, which .have secured thereto a plurality of. wedge brackets D attached to the door frame hnd nuts D The wedge bracketsD at the bottom of the door differ slightly from those at-t-he sides in that those at the sides are cross-wedge brackets, in

-which the wed e runs crosswise, while the brackets at the ottom of the door are end wedge brackets, in which the wedge runs endwise. The said brackets are preferably provided with'tenons d which fit in the sockets c in the door frame. For convenience of manufacture these sockets 0' are made in the form of a continuous groove in the door 'frame, as indicated in Figs. 1 and 3., The

wedge facesd, shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2,

engage thebuttons B, as is shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The side buttons B have one of their angular faces abutting againsta rib 0,, and are thus held against turning. The bottom buttons B abut against a shoulder a, as shown inFigs. 1 and 3, and are thus held againstv turning. The top buttons B have one face abutting against lugs a", and these buttons engage on wedges on. back of the power box, as indicated at a in Fig. 14.

The bottom brackets D are provided with wedge faces (1 engaging the buttons B and project beneath the bottom sill of the door ame. ,Thus it will be seenthat when the door is iii the closed position' there will be aseries of rounded buttons engaging wedge faces located all around the foursides of the door frame, so that the door will be wed ed firmly on its seat, but'will be released and free .to slide by a slight upward movement in thc beginning of the operation ofv o eningthe door.

T e door plate is'provided with apin rack E having a number of (pins e, shown in Fig." 1,

and also in Fig. 14, an in dotted lines in Fig. 4., and this rack terminates in a stop piece E having stop shoulders 12, which enga e the power box, and thus stop the'door an ordinary form of rack, for the reason that such doors are often. fitted to coal bunkers and have to'plunge through coal, and moreover, they are fitted in -where it is difficult to keep them clean "and .coal or dirt or other-material is aptto clog up.

parts ofthe ship the rack, causing the pinion to wedge the rack away latera y, .bindin frame; but by having a in rack with ')in teethprojectingbetween-t e pins, the me is, automatically cleaned out every time'thewhen it Q I reaches the fully open position. .With vertically sliding doors, apin rack is preferable to the. door in the door is raised or lowered. Furthermore, by having the shape of the teeth of involute form. with the base circle of the same diameter as the pitch circle, a construction illustratedin Fig. 4, the teeth will always deliver to the pins a straight thrust in line with the rack, and without any lateral wedging effect, and when the. ins wear, as they will in use, the thrustiwill e still straight in the line wit the rack.

F represents the power box, which contains the electric motor and gearing and other operating mechanism, which will be described in detail later.

G represents a shaft which is journaled in the power box and carries a pin wheel G meshing with the pins e of the rack E. This shaft has secured to it, as by means of the key 9 and set screw g, a worm wheel G which meshes with the worm H on the worm shaft H, which worm shaft may be turned either by hand or by electricity, as will be,

hereinafter described; The worm H is mounted in a casing T, rigidly held in the:

tion of the casing is made ti ht so as to' enable the entire casing to be. led with oil. This diminishes friction and keeps the worm, worm wheel, and automatic cut out attachment, hereinafter to be described, filled with oil.. The hand gear turning this worm shaft comprises the spiral gear H fast on the worm shaft, which meshes with a spiral gear I fast on the hand shaft 1, which hand shaft has squared ends t for the reception of the hand wheel 1 This shaft projects throu h the bulkhead so that a hand wheel may e applied at either side of the bulkhead and thus the hand shaft may be turned from either side of the bulkhead by hand, as may be desired. For convenience of assembly this hand shaft is made of two parts coupled together as at if, see Fig. 5, one of the arts be ing journaled in bearin s 1 I, t e other part carrying a sleeve 1 tting in bearings in the power box, as shown in Fig. 5.

parts.

One end of the worm shaft is coupled to the electric motor with a coupling which per mits of longitudinal movement of the worm shaft, such, for instance, as the coupling illustrated at h and 7c in Fi 4. The armature of the electric motor see Figs. 4, 15, and 16, is mounted between the excited pole piece K wound with the winding K, and the consequent pole iece K which latter is preferably made lntegral withv that part of the cover of the power box. 'This insures compactness and ready accessibility of the The brushes, not shown, ma be of any sultable t e, and the brush holders may be secure to the bearing K, shown in troller locall eration of the-door is effected, and this electrical operation may be either controlled locally by hand, or from the emer ency station through mechanism that wi 1 now be described.

Referring first to the operation of the conat the door and from either side of the ulkhead, I provide a control shaft L carrying handles at either side of the bulkhead L, which control shaft, for convenience of assembly, is preferably made in two parts coupled together, similarly to the hand shaft 1. This control shaft is journaled in bearings 1 and also in the power box. It carries a set collar L and a sleeve M projecting as at m into the bearing in the power box and having a shoulder m which bears against the corresponding shoulder of the power box,

so that by means of this shoulder m and the collar L the control shaft is held against longitudinal movement. This sleeve M is fast to the control shaft L, as shown in Fig. 5. The sleeve M constitutes the hub of a bell crank lever M", one arm of which is connected to the link M, which is recessed at 'm to receive the head to be described. This link 'M is connected of the lever P, hereinafter to the levenM which is pivoted on the pin m and is provided with stops m and m, which stops are alternately engaged by the head m of the op osite arm of the bell crank lever M, as t e control shaft reaches the limit of its rotation in reverse directions. The bell crank lever i also. carries a pin m Pivoted on the stud m is a three-armed lever N having arms a, a, M. The arm n is normally constrained by the spring N, see Figs. 5 and 6, which causes the arm 'n to normally engage the pin m and normally causes the arm a toenga e the pin m*, which is carried by the lever This pin m also carries a roller m whose function will be described later. By means of this spring N the handles L on the control shaft arenormally returned to the central position when released, the parts being then in the position shown in Fig. 8, and the effect on the controller will be hereinafter described. vIt will be seen that if the control shaft be turned in the direction indicated by thefarrow (seeFig. 8), the stop pin m will rock the arm n stretching the spring N. released the spring will snap the parts to the initial position. Whereas, if the control shaft L be rocked in the reverse direction, the link M wi-ll'rock the lever M, causing the pin m? to rock the arm 11}, also stretching the spring N; and as soon as thecontrol handle is released the s ring will again sna the parts to the initia osition. 0 that t e operation of the mec anisrn causes the returnof the'control handles to the initial position irrespective of whether they be turned for As soon as the control handle is a sleeve P, whic is journaled in the controller vframe Q. For convenience of assembly, this lever is provided with a rounded head p,

- its end an angular trigger or toe p, which rocks the controller drum in opposite direcwithdrawn; Onthe contrary, if t v be lifted upwards from any'cause the spring I this spring isdouble acting and tends to cencally from either side of the bulkhead and in" stud q, which projects into va slot r in the 30.

'izing spring R mounted on the plunger rod;

sion between the two collars 1" andr. if the plunger rod be pushed downwards instrumentalit of the lever? fast on the whlch rojects into the recess'm in the link M, and the lever is rocked up and down as this link is moved, through the instrumentality of the control shaft L, and handles L. Thislever P carries an elbow Pf carrying on engages one or other of the lugs g or g on the flange Q of the controller drum, and thus tions for either opening or closing the door, as may be desired. Rocking the controller causes the tips q or g on the conducting sega ments q of the controller to engage the contact fingers O, which are mounted on the insulating holder 0 supported by the controller frame Q, see Figs. 4 and 6. r 1

The wiring connections are all omitted from the drawings, except in the diagrams,

Figs. 17 to 23*. v

The controller drum is held in the'mid pos'ition by' the apparatus, shown more clearly in Fig. 12, in which 11 represents an armcarried' by the controller drum provided with a bracket R carried by the solenoid plunger R. This plunger is free tomove up and down within; limits, but'is normally heldin the mid position by, means ofthe centralwhich spring is in the casing R and abuts against the loose' collars 1" and r The lower collar r is limited in'its downward travel by means of the shoulder r ofthe casing R. The s ring R presses upwards on the collar r w 'ch engages the cap piece 1 of the lunger rod, and lifts the plunger rod, upwar s causing the shoulder r normally to engage the collar 'r, when the parts are m the normal position indicated, in Flg. 12. The collar 1' alsobears against a rib r on the cap R", the spring R being held under com res-.

from any cause, this restore the parts to t soon as the force acting onthe s ring R will tend to he initial position as lunger is fie plunger R will be compressed b 'the'upward action" of the collar r, and will tend to restore the plunger to' the initial position as soon as the extraneous pressure is'withdrawn, so that ter the lunger in the mid position, and'in so doing a so centersthe controller 1n. the mld position. This plunger may be operated loeither direction by meansof the control handles L which operate the link M and the lever P; or it may be operated from a distant wards point in one direction only by enoid R, which sucks the p 0111 when theemergenc circuit is closed. The connections with t e door are so arranged thati'the controller is turned for means of'a sounger R downclosing the door when this emergency circuit is closed, whereas the door may be either opened-or closed by turning the handles L in 'one or the other direction, as may be required. It will thus be seen that the plunger 'R maybe moved either through the instrumentality of. the handles L, or may be moved by the action of the solenoid R". In case of conflict between the .two forces acting on the plunger the solenoid is arranged so that while it may be strong enough to 0 er-" ate the plunger and through it the contro. ler,

it will be still'weak enough to have its force.

readily overcome by the man turning the handle at the door. .Thus it will be seen that while means for closing the door only from a distance are rovided, means are provided at the door w ereby it may be either opened or closed electrically at will, and whereby the local operator'can, when desired, take away control from the distant point, v v

It will be obvious. that when the door reaches the fully v open or closed osition, or when it encounters any obstacle t at the mo- -tor is unable to overcome, it is desirable to automatically cutoff the current, thus not only preventing waste of current, but pre-' venting the parts from burning out, or being otherwise in ured, For this purpose 1- r0- vide automaticcut out mechanism, whic is similar in some respects to the automatic out out mechanism best illustrated in Figs. 4,5, i

7 and 9, and'will now be described. v

Referring first toFig. 4, the worm shaft H is provided with a shoulder h, which abuts against a roller thrust bearing t, which in turn abuts against a sleeve T, which is loose on the worm shaft'and free to slide axially inward in the case T. The corresponding sleeve T ismounted in the other end of the casing T and abuts against the head piece T. Between these sleeves T ,and T the heavy s ring T is held under compression. s aft H is also provided with a thrust bearing t, which abuts againstthe sleeve T and also against the'hub of the spiral gear H,

The h which is fast'to the shaft. The gear H has an inwardly pro'ecting flange h, which engages the shoul or it near the end of the worm shaft. H, and this end of the worm shaft is screw threaded to receive the grooved collar Hfiand the lock nut'h Thus the spiral gear H is held by its key against turning on the worm shaft, and it is also held, by the inwardly proijecting flange h, and the collar H against ongitudinal movement 'on the shaft. U represents a leverwhich has a s ud it, shown most clearllly Fig. 5, plrojec ing nto the grooved co ar-H, as in 'cated n Figs. 4 and 5. This lever is pivoted as at u screw itself axially in one direction or the other, as if the worm wheel were a fixed nut.

. This will cause the spring T to be compressed in one irection or the other according as the obstruction is encountered in closing or in opening the door, If the obstruction is encountered in closing the door, as when the door reaches its seat, or strikes an obstacle which it cannot overcome, such as a coal shovel or a slice bar, the spring will be compressed in one direction, .rocking the lever U in that direction. On the other hand, if the obstruction is encountered inopening the door, as when the door reaches the upper limit of its travel, the s ring T will be comressed in the reverse irection, rocking the ever U in the reverse direction. l This rocking of the lever U in opposite directionseffects the automaticcut off of the current a plied to the motor and also automatical y cuts oil the current applied to the solenoid.

This cutting off of the current from the 1110- tor prevents any waste of current passing through the motor after the door is down on its seat, or after it has encountered an insuperable obstruction, and also in a large measure protects the motor against being burned out. The cutting of the current off of the solenoid also saves waste of current, and prevents'undue heating u of' the solenoid. These ends' are accomplished as will now be described.

The rod V passes throughthe sleeve P (see Fig. 7), and is rovided with shoulders 12' and v wherebyt e slidi motion of this rod is transmitted to the sai sleeve, and since this sleeve has the lever P fast thereon, the sliding motion of this sleeve also imparts a bodily sliding motion .to the lever P in the direction parallel to its pivot. This lever P slides in the direction of the axis of the sleeve P as directed by the motion of the worm H, as just described, and' also has a rocking motion about the same axiscaused by the motion of the-link M, which is operated by the control lever L, these two movements being .a sliding movement on its axis, and a rocking movement about its axis, and the one does not interfere with the other in an way.

. It will be noted that the curve bearin m for the rounded head p of the lever P is e ongated somewhat as shown in Figs. 8 and 9 to permit this bearing to continue in' engagement, although the lever P may have moved in the direction of the axis of its ivot.

The rocking movement of the ever causes the trigger p to engage with'one or the other of the lugs for drum of the contro ler but the s iding movement of the lever causes this trigger to become disengaged from one or the other of these lugs according to the direction of the said slidin motion, and thus releases the controller drum from being held by the said lever P when the load on the gearing becomes excessive, which release of the trigger ermits the s ring R to return the plunger to the initia osition shown in Fig. 12, which return of tiie plunger restores the controller drum to the initial position in which the current is cut off from the motor. This is illustrated diagrammatically in the diagrams, Figs. 17 to 23", which will be hereinafter described.

Since it will be undesirable to have the current continue to flow through the solenoid R and the motor, after the door has closed and locked, or after it has encountered an insuperable obstruction, the rod W and the switch shown in Figs. 4 and 7 and illustrated in the diagrams in Figs. 21 to 23 are provided. This rod W is moved by the rocking of the lever U, and carries an insulating wedge 10 which separates the springs W opening the contacts w and breaking the circuit through the solenoid. This operates only when the rod W is moved to the right in Fi 7 and not when moved to the left. In ot er words, the solenoid is onl cut out when the obstruction is encountere when clos' the door, and not when it is encountere when 0 ening the door. Thus,-if the door is arreste in closing by any obstacle, it may be 0 ened either by the hand ear, or locally e ectrically by means of the andle L, and after being opened it will close again automatically until it either meets the same ob- 'on the flan e Q of the.

struction or until that obstruction has been removed, in which case the door will close automatically. The most important feature of havin this solenoid circuit broken by the action 0 the automatic cut-out mechanism, is that should the obstruction be removed, either by hand or by being washed away, the automatic cut-out mechanism will berestored to the initial position, again closing the solenoid circuit and allowi the door to complete its closure automatieal y'.

In order that indication may be made at the central station when the door is closed, a signal circuit is closed .by mechanism illustrated in Figs. 1, 1 3 and 14, in which X represents an arm carried by the door plate which strikes a crank X, pivoted on a shaft X, which shaft carries another crank X provided with aninsulated conducting pin X which is normally held out of engagement v with the spring contactsXf by means of the the door nears the'completion of its closure,

p or breaking the circuit by hand at that oint,

' as will be shown in segments are shown as is shown as adjacent to the lug g whichdles L.

. is nowengagin'g with the lug g and is hold- 9 make contact with the fingers stage, the handle 7 j lever P is holding the drum down against the action of the centralizing spring R, see- F i stillmain tained in the position for opening the door, but the door having completed the opening operation and the worinhaving it now the handleL be'released, the spring will restore the lever P to I tion shown'in Fig as a In Figs. 17,, 18%, 19 *,2'0521 22 and-23,

' this trigger wil one-or the other of these-lugs. will .be

. arr,

torsional spring X on the shaft X When the arm X strikes the crank X, rocking the shaft X and just as the closure of the door is com leted, the conducting in X? contacts with tli e spring contact pieces 4 completing v the lamp circuit. Since it may not .be desirable to ,have the lamp circuit always com-. leted when the door is closed, I provide a utton at the emergency station for making 7 the diagrams, whic will now be described,- 7

InFigsfN, 1s, 19, 20, 21, 22 and'23, the

conducting tips g andaq -of the controller eveloped, as is also the flange Q which carries the lugs q and g".

these parts are shown in endelevation and in proper relation.

Referring first to Figs. '17 and 17", the controller drum isshown in the mid position when the contact fingers are not in engage-' ,mentwith-the segments and when the current of the motor is cut off. The trigger 19 indicates that the lever P is in the normal osition, or in other words, that the handles E are in the mid position. The fact that the trigger p is in a central position with regard toits axial motion, shows that the door isnotin theclosed or locked position, .or that. it has not reached an insuperable obstruction .in either closin or opening, for in such case Thave moved axially to clear brought out more fully later.

Referring now to Figs." 18 and'18", these show the parts in the position for opening the door bymeans of the lever P,' which as before explained is'rotated only by thehant will be noted that t e trigger p ing the drum so that the opening segments At this L operating through the.

10. If this handle be released, the lever and the controller drum/will be snapped back to the. position indicated in Figsfl? and 17. lnF1gs, 19 and 19", the leverP is shown as moved axially, has imparted a sliding movement to the lever P, causing the trigger p to clear the lug g which will allow thecentrali-zing spring R to snap the controller back. to t e Initial position shown in Fig. 17; v and the initial posi- .17 Figs. 20 and 20 illustrate the parts in the position occupied when the door is being closed by the ocal operater at the handle L. In these figures,.i t will be seen that the trigger p engaging with the lug g has rocked the initial position shown in Figs. 17 and 21 In this diagram, it will be noted that the conducting pin X shown in Fig. Band to the left of Fig. 21, will complete the circuit through the contacts X causing the lam Y to glow, provided the push button Y is pushed in. This lamp Y and push button Y are located at the emergency station, and the push button is provided merely to prevent the lamp from glowing continuously whenever the door is closed, but at the sametime to permit theoperator at the emergency station to ascertainwhether the lamp will glow or not when he'desires.

It will be noted that in Fig. 21, the emer- .gency switch represented at Z does not make contact with the points'z, z andz the emergency control not then being in use.

Theoperation ofthese door throu h the emergency operation will be describe with reference to Figs. 22 to 22.

Figs. 22 and 22 showAahe door in the act of closing by the emergency. Referring first to the emergencv stationfat the upper left hand corner oft e figure, Z represents the emergency switch which is turned to make contact with the points z, z and 2 When in the position shown in Fig. 22, the

parts in closing the current will flow from the positlve main through the contacts 2 and z, and the red lampZ back to the negative main. This -will cause thered lamp to glow, and will indicate at the emergencystation that the emer ency current is on. t The current, will also ow from the positive main to the contact z to the contact 2 and thence passing through the springs W will pass throu h the solenoid coils R, and will return to 't e negative "main. This will cause the solenoid to suck the plunger R downwards, roe-kin the controller drum against the action 0' the centralizing spring R, and bringing the closing segments qiof the drum into contact with the fingers O. The trigger 2. ever in this operation by emergency, and

that is the reason why a sufficient clearance space is allowed between the lugs g and g for the controller to be lever P and of the controller handles for operand contacts 10'', it

performs no function what rocked by the emergency action, as just described, without in-- terfermg' in any waywith the position'of the atin the same. Thus if. the controller han es should stick for any cause, or be held 111 the position, the-emergency action wouldstill operate the 'door. It will be noted that when the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 2-2, the circuit closer X is out of contact with the-spring X so that pushin down the push button Y will not cause the lam Y to glow, because the circuit through that amp is broken, and thiscircuit Wlll remain 0 en until the door is wholly closed, the position indicated in Figs. 23 and 23. When the door is fully closed and the emergency action is on, the emergency switch Z remains still in contact with the points .2, 2 and 2 and the red lamp Z continues to glow, but the insulating wedge w, see bottom of Fig. 23, has separated the contacts w breaking the circuit through the solenoid, which will release the plunger and will allow the s ring R to snap'the controller drum bac to theinitial position. will be further noted'thatrat this time the contact pin X will have closed the circuit through the sprin s X, which will complete the circuit throug this push button is pressed down, the circuit through the lamp Y will be completed, and this lamp will glow, so that the operator at the emergency station can tell, whenever he desires, whether the door is closed or not. It will be noted that during this action, the

lever P remains in the initial position as system, however, call for the taking away control from the distant point by the operator at the door, and thus it will be seenthat under one condition the distant control must be dominated by the local control. Now when the emergency action is on, if the door he opened under local control, as soon as it reaches the limit of its upward travel, under the sliding action of the lever P, the trigger 11 will become disengaged from the opening lug g and the solenoid bein still in operation would immediately suri the plunger down, rocking the controllerdrum to the position for closing the door, thus taking away control from the local operator. prevent this, I provide the interlocking catch and'mechanism illustrated most clearly in Figs. 8 to 11. S represents a catch plate pivoted on the pin 1', fast to the spring casmg R and slotted as at s to allow of vibration, limited by the 1n 1', which projects. into said slot s. This plate is normally the lampY, except for the break at the push button Y, and when the arm r projecting from the sleeve R fast on the .plun er. This plate S is provided with a cam ace s which engages with the roller m on the'pin m? fast to the lever M This roller normally presses against the cam face 8 and pushes the plate S backwards as shown in Fig. 8, so that the catch s will be clear of the stop 1'". This will allow the plunger Rto be moved up and down without obstruction from the catch S and this will be the position that the parts assume whenever the handles L are in the central position. If, however, these handles are turned for opening the door, or to the position shown in Fig. 10, the roller m will be swung away from the cam face 8, and the spring S will swing the locking plate Sforwards, causing the catch S to engage beneath the stop 1"". When the parts are in this position, it will be impossible for the plunger. rod it to be moved downward further 'thanits mid position, shown in Fig. 8, and therefore, the solenoid is prevented from sucking down the plunger until the handle is released by the operator at the door, as shown in Fig. 11, at which time the solenoid will suck the plunger down, and the stop 1' will pass clear of the catch S Thus it will be seen that the man at the door wishing to open the same, can take away control from the emergency sta tion, but that this control will be immediclosed from a distant point, and in which A the operator at the door may take away control from the distant. oint. I have also provided an apparatus or signaling at the distant point when the door is closed. The apparatus also 7 provides for automatically breaking the operating circuit from the distant point, when the door is closed or when an insuperable obstacle is encountered in closing the door. The breaking of this circuit is not necessary to the successful operation of the a paratus, and the mechanism for accomplishing the same may be omitted if desired, but it tends to economy and efficiency in the operation of the device. And, finally, I have provided automatic means for cutting off the current when an excessive load is thrown upon'the gears in either openin" or closing the doors. r i t t will be noted that the. controller drum is'afiected from no less than four independent sources. The weakest source of power is the centralizing spring R ,-which restores the parts to the initial position when not bined effects of the solenoid and of the cenindefinitely for groups o acted upon by any othersourceof power. Stronger than thecentralizing spring is the solenoid, which must be sufliciently strong to overcome the action of .the centralizing spring. The third sourceof power .is the mechanism operated by the hand lever L. This power must be stronger than the comtralizing spring, so that the controller drum may be moved against the combined effect otthe solenoid and centralizing spring. The fourth source of power is the mechanism operated by the automatic cut out which. throws out of action both the hand control and the solenoid control, but permits the centralizing spring to restore the parts to the initial position.

'It'will be noted that if the door be closing and encounters an obstacle,fg r reaches its seat, that the automatic cut out mechanism will take away the hand control or the solenoid control for further closing, but it. will leave the hand control free to operate, for opening the door, and once the door is started for opening, the automatic cut out, mechanism will return to the normal posi-, tion, and the solenoid control will be reestablished, dominated of course by the hand control.

It'will be obvious that while I have illustrated the invention as applied to ,a vertically sliding door, that it may also be applied to a horizontally sliding door, and such a door is illustrated in Figs. 24 and 25,. in which the power box is arranged vertically, and in which I have shown a rack E engaging a pinion G instead of the pin rack and pin wheel used on the verticall' .sliding door. In this form of device, it wi l be more con-- venient to provide rollers a" for the lower edge of the door A, so that it .may he slid more freely. The form of tighteners and the other details of the door, are substantially the same as have already been described with reference toF-igs. 1 to 16. While I have shown only the connections for operating a single door, it will be obvious that these connections mi ht be multiplied fi doors, the said connections being made at 'any suitable emergency station.

It will be obvious that various modifications might be made in the herein described apparatus which could be used without departingfrom the spirit of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is An electric a aratus for the operation. of watertight bulliliead doors and hatches" aboard ship, comprising an electricmotor and gearing driven thereby for operating. the door, means ,for completing-the circuit through said motor from a distance, hand operated mechanism for completing the cir-j a, substantially as. described. r

adapted to resist the thrust on said gearlng,

of said spring for automatically cuttin o cuit through said motor in either direction and dominating thedistant control a spring the current. from said motor when'the oad on the motor exceeds a predetermined limit,

aratus for the operation 2. Anelectric a 4 li ead doors and hatches of watertight bul 'aboard ship, comprising an electric motor and gearing driven ,thereby for operating 'the door, means 'for completing the circuit through said motor from a distance, hand operated mechanism for completing the circuit through said motor in either direction and dominating the distant control, and means for automatically cuttin ofi the current from said motor and for reaking the circuit for the distant control when the load on the motor exceeds a predetermined'limit, substantially as described.

3. An electric apparatus for the operation of watertight bulkhead doors .and hatches aboard ship, comprising an electric motor and gearing driven thereby for operating the door, means for completing the circuit through said motor from a distance, handop erate through-said motor in eit er direction and dominating the distant control, a spring mechanism for completing the circuit p adapted to resist the thrust on said gearing,

and mechanism operated upon the yieldin of said spring for, automatically cuttin o the current from said motorw en the oad on the motor exceeds a predetermined limit,

and a signal circuit for making a signal at the distant point, with means for automatically closing said signal circuit when the door reaches the closed; position, substantially as described.

'4. An electric a aratus for the operation of watertight b Ehead doors and hatches aboard ship, comprising an electric motor and gearing driven thereby for operating the door, means for completing the circuit throu h said motor from a distance, hand op-' crater? through said motor in eit dominating the distant control, and means for automatically cutting, off the current from said motor and for breaking the circuit for the distant control when the load on the motor exceeds a predetermined limit, and asignal circuit for making'a signal at the distant point, with means for automatically closing saidsignal circuit when the door position, substantially as door, a so enoid circuit, a solenoid, and a controller operated thereby for completing mechanism for completi g the circui: er irection an -and gearin driven there yfor operating the 7 

